Louis VII of France

Louis VII of France (1120-18 September 1180) was King of France from 1 August 1137 to 18 September 1180, succeeding Louis VI of France and preceding Philip II of France.

Biography
Louis was born in 1120, the second son of Louis VI of France and Adelaide of Maurienne. His older brother Philip died in 1131, and he was crowned junior king of France on 25 October 1131 in Reims Cathedral by Pope Innocent II at his father's request. On 25 July 1137, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine, daughter of William X of Aquitaine and Aenor de Chatellerault. In 1137, he became King of France on his father's death and, from 1142 to 1144, Louis campaigned against Theobald II of Champagne after he supported the Pope in a dispute over the Archbishopric of Bourges; the pope and king had opposing candidates. He burnt down Vitry-le-Francois and killed 1,000 people who took refuge in the church, but he was remorseful about his actions, agreeing to allow the papal candidate to rule Bourges. In atonement for his actions, he was one of the leaders of the Second Crusade of 1147, but his army was ambushed by Turks with arrows and heavy stones at Laodicea, where they were massacred. His army reached Syria in 1148, and Louis, Conrad III of Germany, and Baldwin III of Jerusalem besieged Damascus. This led to disaster, and Louis returned home the next year. In 1179, a paralyzed Louis had his son Philip II of France crowned as junior king at Reims, the last Capetian king to be crowned there; he died in 1180.